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Gov. Bush Has Reason To Think That Predominantly Black Public Schools Are Shortchanged. There Should Be Solid Research. Then The State Can Provide All Students With Equal Opportunities.

February 8, 2000|By Rose

In theory, Florida offers all its citizens an equitable opportunity to receive an education.

Gov. Jeb Bush, with good reason, wants to know if the theory works in practice.

A task force he appointed last November will look into whether school districts throughout Florida treat all public schools the same or whether predominantly black public schools are being shortchanged.

Those are important questions. They deserve careful investigation and complete answers if the state is to succeed at correcting any inequities.

Mr. Bush says he has witnessed disparities during visits to predominantly black schools. He even has seen broken pipes, outdated computers and a lack of science laboratories and other resources.

No doubt he has. Sad to say, Mr. Bush has reason for his concerns. Predominantly black schools very well may receive inadequate maintenance, inadequate resources and inexperienced teachers.

The challenge before the Equity in Education Opportunity Task Force will be to root out the reasons for such conditions. Mr. Bush must have all the facts if he is to succeed at his goal of replacing state policies that aren't working with those that bring more opportunity to minorities.

Ironically, Florida is a national leader in the fair way it distributes education money. School districts don't have to rely on their local property-tax base, as is the rule in many other states. The state instead uses a formula based on students' needs to distribute tax revenue to districts.

In Central Florida, for example, cash-strapped school districts sometimes have opted to use their limited construction dollars to build new schools in fast-growing suburbs instead of to renovate out-of-date older schools. Renovation can be costly, especially when it entails adding a science lab or rewiring a school for computers.

Because predominantly black neighborhoods tend to be located in older parts of the community, the children from those neighborhoods like their white counterparts in other older neighborhoods have ended up going to classes in inadequate structures.

If a predominantly black neighborhood also is low-income, schools in that neighborhood suffer even more. Parents can't afford to donate money for books, computers, supplies and the like the way parents in wealthier communities routinely do.

So long as public schools in Florida must rely on private donations to keep up, that inequity will continue to exist.

Finally, schools in predominantly black, low-income neighborhoods are likely to have a harder time recruiting experienced teachers. Poverty is a major factor. Those schools have fewer resources, for the reasons stated above. Their students also often come to school less prepared to learn than children in more affluent areas, making teaching a more difficult challenge.

Mr. Bush's school-grading system underscores the challenges teachers in low-income schools face. The state's D and F schools serve the poorest communities throughout the state.

Some districts are trying to devise ways to keep the best teachers in the most challenging schools. The Orange County school district, where many of the region's predominantly black schools are concentrated, has been working with the local teachers union to create salary incentives to attract and keep good teachers at those schools.

Mr. Bush is correct to look for ways the state can help restore equity. Florida should not tolerate unequal treatment of any of its citizens.